Louder Than Words
by pullingbeckettspigtails
Summary: College AU: After being dragged to a house party by her overly zealous room-mate, Kate makes an acquaintance that she can't quite seem to get rid of.
1. Struck By Your Lightening

**Ch. 1**

"Come on, Kate! We're freshmen in college! It's basically our _duty_ to attend every house party within a 10 mile radius!"

"My only 'duty' is to be your designated driver and hair holder when the night inevitably takes a turn for the worst."

"Which you're not going to be doing a good job of if you're stuck in our dorm instead of being with me."

Kate glanced at her boisterous best friend pacing their still barren dorm room, who was dressed to the nines in a short, shining, shimmering dress, complete with sapphire lipstick that will be smudged later and precariously pinned up hair that will be hurriedly ruined by someone else's desperate hands.

"Maddie, I-"

The blonde girl sighed melodramatically as she plonked herself down onto Kate's bed, "If you don't go, I won't know anyone there!" she whined.

"Just like the same situation I face every time I go to a party with you." Kate quickly replied, not even looking up from the book in her hands.

"That situation will never be fixed if you don't put yourself out there, y'know."

Kate opened then promptly shut her mouth. Couldn't argue with that.

"Come _on_. You can even take your damn book if you want. I'll just come find you when I'm done."

"More like when the guy's done."

"Which will hopefully last a while."

Kate snapped her gaze up as she raised her brows at her room-mate.

"So you'll have a chance to finish your book. What else did you think I meant?" Maddie quipped, flicking her hair as she turned her face away with an all-knowing smirk.

Kate took up Maddie's previous offer as she immediately sat down on the only available couch, whipping her book out of her bag, evoking an emphasized eye roll from the blonde.

"Usual?" Maddie asked, prompting a nod from Kate.

Not even two minutes later (Maddie always could snatch the attention of any person, including those serving the alcohol) she returned with a vodka tonic and a martini of a suspiciously bright colour. Kate nodded her thanks, taking a sip of the vodka concoction before placing it on the table adjacent to her spot.

"I'll catch you later, Bex!"

"I'll be here." Kate replied plainly, focusing her attention on her book, attempting to block out the noise of the jocks cheering, the girls squeaking and the questionable moans coming from upstairs. It was going to be a long night.

"Good book."

"Hmm?" Kate murmured, looking up to see who was casting a shadow over her much-needed reading light.

"I said, good book."

"Yeah." She replied curtly, not particularly in the mood for talking.

"Any reason why you're reading it?" The man said as he perched next to Kate, eyes never leaving her.

"People are always going on about it, so I was curious."

"Peer pressure usually get to you then?"

"Not particularly." She remarked, as her eyes wandered over to the side of the room where some poor guy was being coerced into downing a whole bottle of Smirnoff Ice. Her companion chuckled as he followed her gaze. They were silent for a few moments, until he spoke up again.

"If you want to be ahead of the crowd, then you should probably read Richard Castle's novel."

"Oh, really?" Kate rebuked, once again tearing her concentration from the pages.

"Mhm."

"Huh. Well maybe someone should inform this '_Richard Castle'_ that a lot of writers are only recognised after they're dead."

The man's eyes widened, before his face broke out into a smirk, "Is that a threat?"

"I don't know, is this Richard Castle scared by girls?"

"He might be, if they're sexy, smart and scintillating."

Kate pursed her lips, "Alliteration. If I didn't know any better, I would think that you were a writer."

"Hmm. Funny that."

The brunette opened her mouth to spew out another witty remark, until a girl caught her eye. In particular, a girl in a shiny dress with (slightly smudged) red lipstick. And the man hurriedly hauling her upstairs, glint in his eye.

Immediately, Kate sprung up from her place, quickly hovering over to her friend and her mystery man.

"Excuse me?" She shouted, making sure she would be heard over the thumping bass music.

"What?" Maddie's companion sneered, making it obvious that he wasn't in the mood for a chat.

"Bex, hiiii!" The blonde slurred, eyes struggling to focus in one spot.

Kate gave a small, tight smile to her room-mate before looking back up at the sleazy man in front of her.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Isn't it pretty obvious?" He sneered, his gaze roaming over Maddie's entire frame, causing her to giggle.

"Have you made it obvious to her?"

"What?" The guy asked, eyebrows raised.

"Even if you have, I don't think a person who's drank so much can give the required consent."

"And _I_ don't think I give a shit."

"Well I do, considering she's my friend, and I'm her designated driver and decision maker for when she's intoxicated."

The man exaggeratedly rolled his eyes, before pushing Maddie away, causing her to sway slightly, grasping onto Kate's side.

"Whatever. I'll find some other slut to fuck." He remarked, storming off.

Kate turned her attention to her friend, gently rubbing the areas under her eyes to clean up her smudged mascara. "Wow, Maddie. You always go for the charmers."

"Hey! He bought me a drink. That seemed nice enough."

"Did he put anything in that drink?" Kate asked wearily.

"Fuck, Mama Beckett's lawyer mode just came out of you." Maddie joked.

"Well, now 'Mama Beckett's' Mom mode is arriving." Maddie met Kate's gaze, confused. "I'm taking you back."

The blonde sighed, "Yeah, there's no hotties here. Well, except that guy who's staring at you."

Kate turned quickly on her heels to find her uninvited reading partner smirking at her, obviously having witnessed the entire situation. She rolled her eyes and returned her focus to Maddie. "Leaving. Now. You got everything?"

Maddie glanced in her purse, rummaging around for a second before grinning, "Yep!"

Kate nodded, returning to her previous spot, with her friend in tow. She tried to grab her bag and head for the door as quickly as possible, until she felt a hand on her lower back, spinning her around.

"Hey." The man from before smiling at her, "Don't forget your book."

She snatched the book out of his hand, offering an insincere thanks as she began to leave once more.

"Remember! Richard Castle! Look up his book!"

Kate blames the fact that Richard Castle's "_Flowers For Your Grave_" is now in her Amazon basket on the alcohol she consumed, convinced that a glass and a half of vodka tonic can make a person do stupid things.


	2. Keep On Walking

A piercing ring tone awoke Kate from her slumber, making her roll over and attempt to drown out the noise. The phone continued to screech for a few more seconds, until the brunette heard a loud groan from the room next to hers.

"For fuck's sake, Kate, turn it _off!_" Maddie's voice shouted from across the dorm.

"It's not mine!" Kate replied, grumbling.

"Then why is it coming from _your_ room?"

Kate sat up in her bed, realising that the ringing was indeed coming from the bag she took to the party last night. But that wasn't her ring tone, was it? She shook her head and rubbed her eyes, only one way to stop the ringing. She unlocked the phone, answering the call with a barely audible groan.

"_Richard! _Have you forgotten what you _promised_ to do!?" A shrill voice asked loudly.

Kate emitted an incoherent noise as a response.

"For God's sake, Richard! You said you would help set up my studio's lights, since apparently, and I quote 'you're an old lady who can't handle her drink, let alone 60 pound electronics'. But it looks like you can't handle your drink either, young man, if you slept through your alarm!"

Kate creased her eyebrows, trying to make sense of what was happening. "W-What?"

A sigh came from the phone speaker, "Oh God, Richard. Is a woman there with you? Just apologise to the poor girl and get down here."

"Who's Richard?"

"She doesn't even know your name? Oh dear, I thought I taught you to treat women with respect."

Kate perked up, "I didn't sleep with this Richard, or with anyone! Now who are you and why are you calling me so early at…" She glanced at her alarm clock, 10:47? She'd really slept for that long? With a sigh, she continued "Why are you calling me in the first place?"

"I'm sorry, who is this?" The woman asked, voice much quieter and less angry sounding.

"Kate Beckett?" She answered cautiously.

"How do you know Richard?"

"Again, who?"

"My son, Richard Castle."

_Oh._

Kate let out a loud groan, causing the woman on the other side of the line to chuckle, "Yep, that'll be him."

"I met him last night, we talked for a bit, and then I left…"

"Well, dear, you somehow have his phone."

"But, how?" Kate struggled to remember, (why was her brain this fuzzy after only a couple of drinks? Oh right, she was holding Maddie's hair and rubbing circles on her back until approximately 5am. That's why.) She managed to image the table she put her phone on. Did he put his phone down there too? Yeah, she distinctly remembers two iPhones laid out on the counter. But didn't the idiot check the case before he took the phone? Or did she take one first? She was too tired for this.

"I'm sorry for shouting at you, darling." The woman sounded slightly bashful, causing Kate to soften.

"No, it's fine." It wasn't fine, but she could pretend, "How about I give my number a ring and tell him about this mix-up, and ask him to call you?"

A content sigh came from the speaker, "I would be very grateful, dear, thank you."

"No problem, Mrs. Castle."

"Oh, no, Martha. You can call me Martha."

"Okay, Martha. Bye."

"Goodbye, dear. Oh, and Kate?"

"Yes?"

"Don't be afraid to shout at him. For the both of us."

"Don't worry, I will."

Her phone picked up on the second ring, with an unusually chipper voice coming through the speakers. "Why, hello mystery lady."

"Shut up, Richard."

"Jesus, Richard sounds formal, call me Rick." He replied with a smirk.

"Well, your Mom calls you Richard, so I guess-"

Rick cut her off, "Wait, my Mother? When did you-"

"The lovely sound of your Mother's voice was my alarm clock this morning, shouting at me about how you should be helping her at her-"

"Studio. Shit."

"Yeah, shit."

"I'm sorry, I completely forgot about that."

"Why are you apologising to me?" Kate asked inquisitively, sensing a change in his character.

"Because I've spent 21 years dealing with my Mother's shouting waking me up in the morning, and I would never wish that upon anyone, especially you."

She kind of feels implied to ask what he means by the end of that sentence, but isn't quite prepared for any answer, so she continued on, "Where are we meeting?"

"That's a very blunt way to ask me out on date."

Kate sighed, rolling her eyes, "I need my phone, you need yours. Also, I've had about 4 hours sleep, so don't test me."

"Is that 'Mama Beckett' mode coming out again?" Rick stated, remembering her conversation between her and her drunk friend the night before.

"No, but if you annoy me anymore, I can get Mama Beckett to put a restraining order on you, understood?" She huffed.

A chuckle emerged from him, "Understood."

A small silence occurred before Kate let out another sigh, "Place?"

"Oh, right. Remy's? It's a restaurant café kind of place on Lexington Avenue, near 14th Street. It has these burgers-"

"I think you're getting ahead of yourself, Rick. I just want my phone."

"Not much of a date then, is it?"

"Remy's. 14th and Lex. 11:30?"

Another infuriating chuckle, "Looking forward to it, mystery lady."

Kate hung up, falling back into her mattress, letting out a shrill screech of frustration.

"Guy from last night?" She heard Maddie's voice grumble as she approached the kitchen, turning on the coffee machine.

"How'd you guess?"

"From what I can remember, he seemed like a bit of a dick."

Kate loves her best friend.

He immediately spotted her when she entered, dressed comfortably in an oversized green sweater that brings out her hazel eyes, wearing light brown heeled boots that compliment her never-ending legs that are donned in navy blue skinny jeans. Her make-up is minimal, but still making her look like a fresh faced woman instead of a college student who got 4 hours sleep. She scowled as she saw his eyes raking down her frame, hastily making her way towards the table he's perched at.

"Here." She borderline threw the phone down onto the plastic table, raising her eyebrows as to inquire as to the location of her mobile.

"Sit down. I've ordered you a burger with fries and a side salad so-"

"No I-"

"I didn't order a drink because I didn't know what you liked – other than vodka tonics, which I don't think you'd want this early anyway – but I recommend the shake, they're to die for, especially the strawberr-"

"Rick, I don't want-"

"You should really sit because the food could be here any minute and if you look like you're leaving they might-"

"Rick!" Kate interrupted loudly, slamming her fist onto the table, narrowly missing his phone.

"Look." He said calmly, the childish rambling from before gone, "I'm sorry for the mix-up and I'm sorry for my Mother's piercing voice yelling at you this morning, and I'm sorry for bothering you last night when you just wanted peace and quiet, or well, as much as you could get at a house party." Kate rolled her eyes before Rick continued, "Look, I'm sorry. Just, let me make it up to you? You don't have anywhere else to be, do you?"

Kate shook her head slowly, eyeing him cautiously. "Come on, you just… you seem interesting and I'd like to get to know you, while I apologise for everything that I've caused in your life in the past 12 hours, okay?"

The girl smiled grudgingly before sitting down in the chair opposite him, "Fine."

Rick grinned at her, "Thank you, Beckett."

"I could get used to this side of you," Rick tilted his head, prompting her to elaborate, "The side of you that apologises and isn't a cocky bastard."

"A man can't help being cocky if he has such a big co-"

"And he's back." Kate said in a monotone voice, feigning annoyance, causing him to smirk.

Before they could begin a conversation, a young teenage boy with curly brown hair stepped up to their booth, "One cheeseburger with extra fries and one regular burger with fries and salad?"

"Yep," Rick piped up, "Cheese for me, regular for the lady."

Kate grimaced slightly and being called 'the lady', but then remembered what Rick had said previously, "By the way, do you have any strawberry shakes?"

"Of course, one strawberry shake for the lady, coming right up!" The waiter said slightly too enthusiastically after he had finished placing down the food. Rick didn't hesitate before digging in to his cheeseburger, so Kate dug in, taking a small bite out of her burger. She could instantly see why he liked this place, the food was great.

"Good choice of meeting place?" Rick asked after he had finished his mouthful.

Kate nodded, swallowing down her bite, "Very good, at least there's one thing about you I don't mind, your good sense of taste."

"Hey, that's not very fair, the only things you know about me are that I have a batshit crazy Mother that enjoys a drink, or ten, and that I write books. You can't judge me on that!"

Kate bit her bottom lip, appearing pensive, "Fine, tell me more things about yourself then."

"Oh, Beckett, I was hoping you'd ask that." He smirked.

Over the next hour or so, Kate learned that Richard Castle was a senior at her college, majoring in Literature and minoring in Criminology, his Mother was a Broadway actress that had once been nominated for a Tony Award and has apparently never been quiet about it since, he had a golden retriever for most of his childhood that was called Pat because at aged 7 he thought the joke that his dog's full name was 'Pat the dog' was hilarious, his birthday was April 1st and he therefore has 'an inbuilt love of pranks that cannot be swayed', he spent most of his days in the New York Public Library as it was his free babysitter while his Mother worked and that's how his love of writing and books came about, and that his favourite show was some Joss Whedon show that Kate had never previously heard of, but he had made her promise to check out so they could 'fangirl together'.

Similarly, Rick had found out multiple facts about his mystery lady, such as how her first name was Kate (which he was glad about so now he no longer needs to refer to her as solely Beckett in his head), she was raised in Manhattan, until her and her family had to move due to her Mom's job, she was studying pre-law so she could follow in her mother _and_ father's footsteps, the drunk girl she was looking after was her room-mate Madison Queller whom she met on her first day of college and became immediate friends with after her quarter got stuck in the vending machine and the blonde had used a hair pin to fetch it back out, her grandfather was a magician and took her to a local magic shop (the same one he frequented as a child) every Sunday morning after church, for the first few months of elementary school, she referred to herself as 'Lola' because she hated how everyone insisted on called her 'Katherine' instead of Kate, and she bought her first comic at age 14.

The two chatted for a long time after they finished their meals and shakes, until a gentle chime tinkling sound from Rick's bag made them pause abruptly. On instinct, he answered the phone, before widening his eyes as he heard the startled voice on the other side.

"Sorry," he said bashfully, "Forgot it was yours."

Kate rolled her eyes as she took her phone from his hand, placing it swiftly up to her ear. "Hello? Oh, hey Mom."

Kate furrowed her eyebrows as her Mom spoke, "Why would you call out a search party for me?" she asked, until the realisation dawned on her with a gasp, "Oh God, I didn't text you when I got in last night! Oh crap, Mom I'm so sorry! Please say that you and Dad didn't wait up all night like you used to…"

She chuckled as she heard her Mother's response, "Glad to know you don't think you're 'that pathetic' anymore, even though you've resorted to calling me about 12 hours since we last spoke anyway."

Kate paused to listen to her Mother's voice, then snapped her gaze back to Rick, speaking in a hushed tone, as if he couldn't hear her, "No, Mom, you didn't 'interrupt anything', he's no-one."

This statement caused Rick's eyebrows to shoot up, and to quickly hurtle forward to snatch Kate's phone from her, making her emit what could only be described as a small screech.

"Hello, Mrs. Beckett. I'm Richard Castle, lovely to virtually meet you. I just overheard your daughter calling me no-one, so I thought I would set the record straight, and show you that she hasn't lost her mind in her first semester of college, and she wasn't talking to a brick wall."

"A brick wall would be more charismatic than you." Kate mumbled, still trying to grasp her phone from over the table.

"Shh, Kate. Don't insult me when I'm talking to your Mother, you'll make her gather a bad impression of me."

"Her _impression_ of you doesn't matter! Give me my phone, you _asshole_!"

"Katherine Beckett, I do believe your Mother heard you say that." A laugh erupted from Castle as he scolded at her, "She said she heard it!"

"She's a lawyer, she's heard much worse, now give me my phone!"

"But I want to talk to your Mom, after you said such lovely things about her… Oh yes, Mrs Beckett, she's been quite the advocate for you, and for your cooking! I've been told that your breakfasts are exquisite; bacon, sausages, eggs, pancakes, the whole shebang! I can't wait to try it for myself!" Castle's mouth opened as he saw his companion moving over to his side of the booth, "I'm sorry to interrupt you Mrs Beckett, but I think your daughter is going to kill me, so you only have a limited time left."

"I'm definitely going to kill you!" Kate retorted, as she poked Rick's squirming body, trying to get him to give up the mobile.

"Mrs Beckett, did you get that? Make sure you use this recording in court when your daughter is on trial for murder!" Rick attempted to catch Kate's wrists with his available hand as she made swipes for his head, "Ha, she said that you would definitely put in jail with that kind of admission! Now, Beckett, am I _so_ annoying that you would give up multiple years of your li-" Kate lunged forward and gripped the shell of his ear, "Ow! Ow! Fucking hell, that _hurts,_ Kate!"

"It's supposed to!" Kate replied, finally successfully pulling the phone from his grasp. "I'll talk to you later, Mom, I need to deal with this idiot."

"Will you be my lawyer for this incident, Mrs Beckett? I need someone to avenge me!"

"She works for the New York Attorney, not Nick Fury, you moron." Kate said exasperatedly as she heard her Mother's laugh through the phone, she was definitely going to be interviewed about this later. She smirked as she heard Johanna's reply, "No, I won't 'go easy' on him. Bye, Mom." She said finally, hanging up and tossing the phone onto the table as Rick continued to poke and tickle her.

"Rick, stop! I'm not even on the phone anymore!" His fingers roamed the expanse of her sweater covering the right side of her rib cage, making her emit a loud squeal as she wriggled away.

"Why, Ms Beckett, did I just find your sensitive spot?"

"Shut up and _stop_! I'm going to fall out of the booth!"

Rick wrapped an arm around Kate's middle and pulled her up, close enough so her chest brushed his, their faces inches away from each other's.

Kate immediately flinched away, grasping her phone and purse. "Bye, Rick."

The man looked up in confusion as Kate stood up and hurried towards the door, "Kate, wait! Kate!" but it was no use, she was already out the door and continued to walk at the same fast pace until she reached the college campus.

As soon as she got into her dorm, she leaned back against the closed door, scarlet red face desperately panting for breath.

"Really?" Her room-mate said amusedly from the couch, "It went so badly you ran away?"

Kate shook her head, squinting at the blank spots in her vision, "I don't even know."

"Well then," Maddie shifted slightly, patting the space next to her, "Tell me all about it, and I'll help you figure it out."

Kate flopped down next to her friend, a slight smile emerging on her face, "So, should I start from the phonecall?"


	3. One Look Could Kill

A red faced Kate burst through the door of her dorm room, panting rapidly as she began to hurriedly walk to the fridge.

"Don't bother!" A voice piped up from the couch, causing Kate's head to whip round, trying to focus her blurry vision on her room-mate, "I have a water bottle here for you, thought you'd make it back soon."

Maddie extended her arm to Kate, who simply nodded to show her thanks as she collapsed down onto the couch, squeezing her eyes shut.

"But obviously I should've bought the entire store's supply of water because that's how much you look like you lost in sweat on that run." Maddie observed, eyes glancing up and down her best friend's practically limp body. Kate rolled her head slowly to glare at the blonde, prompting her to continue, "How far did you even run today?"

"Went to the running track. Didn't keep count of laps." Kate explained. She then loosened the black fabric iPhone holder on her arm and pressed the lock button, glaring at the screen as it lit up.

"What?" Maddie asked, moving closer to see the cause of confusion.

"According to the running app I use, I ran just over 8 kilometers?"

"Kate. You haven't even been gone an hour. And that's including the 10 minute journey to the gym." Maddie said, voice laced with concern.

The brunette exhaled loudly, shutting her eyes once more. "No wonder my body feels like it's been hit by a truck."

"Can I give my advice?" Maddie took the silence as a yes, "Maybe you should stop your work out at the point where you can no longer feel your legs. Just a thought."

Kate grumbled, "I know, Mads. It's just... When I'm running, I don't even notice how much time has passed until I stop, and that's when the exhaustion hits me. It's just like my brain goes blank, and I need that right now."

"Then watch mind-numbing TV like most of us do." Maddie said light-heartedly, motioning towards the episode of _Toddlers and Tiaras _that was donning the screen in front of them.

"Sitting on a couch gorging on popcorn at 10am won't get rid of my frustration." Kate explained as she leaned over Maddie's lap to grab one of the salted kernels, popping it into her mouth before taking another large swig of water.

"What 'frustration'? We just started college, we don't have any big exams for months. And it can't be about missing your parents of anything, you call them at 8pm on the dot every damn day."

Kate shrugged, grimacing slightly at the pain in her right shoulder, "I don't know, I've just been frustrated over the past week."

"Because of that Rick guy?" Maddie teased, shoving a handful of popcorn in her mouth.

"I don't wanna talk about it." Kate mumbled, casting her gaze to the muted TV showing an overly fake tanned woman with a pink, skimpy outfit on chasing a little girl down a corridor.

"Because it's about that Rick guy." The blonde persisted.

"Maddie, you're starting to sound like a broken record."

"Because it _is_ about that Rick guy!" She repeated with an obvious tone. Kate groaned loudly, turning her attention back to her friend.

"It's not him! I'm not some girl that just shuts down and ignores everything else in her life because there's a guy that wants to stick his penis in her!"

Maddie sputtered, "Becks, I'm not saying that you are. I'm just saying he's left an impression on you."

She rolled her eyes, "_Please._ I haven't even given him a thought since that day with the phones."

"I can hear you say his name, y'know. The walls are thin."

Kate's jaw dropped, "I have _not_ said his name. Not while I was asleep, or doing whatever else you're insinuating right now."

Maddie narrowed her eyes, before sighing dramatically. "Damn it, I thought that if you thought I knew something, you'd break."

The brunette scoffed as she reached for more food, "Yeah, making up false information always convinces a person with two lawyers for parents."

The other girl chuckled, "Fine, then maybe this will cheer you up." She leaned over to grab the paper pad by the phone and handed it to Kate. "Professor Kovalev called while you were gone, said that a student wanted you for your tutoring skills."

Kate hummed as she read the scribbled writing, "He mention a name?"

"You worried it's going to be another guy that wants you to teach him Russian dirty talk over the phone?" Maddie teased, raising her eyebrows.

"That guy still sends me emails."

"I thought that was the guy that wanted to hook up with that Romanian woman that he met at some club and he thought Romanian and Russian were the same thing?"

"Him too."

"Wow, you pick up all the charmers."

Kate huffed, "My parents encounter a couple of charmers too. It's a hereditary thing, I'm sure." She stretched her arms out above her, "Okay, I need to shower. I probably smell like the dead."

"Wasn't going to say anything, but yeah, kinda." Maddie admitted, causing Kate to poke her ribs in retaliation as she stood up.

* * *

><p>"Здравствуйте Katherine." Professor Kovalev greeted as his student opened the door to his office.<p>

"Доброе утро." She replied with a grin, as she walked around the desk to shake his hand.

He handed her a sheet of paper, "I asked the student what he was most interested to learn, what days he was free, convenient hours for him, etcetera. Thought it would eliminate you having to ask those questions for the first session and let you just get started with the tutoring, he seemed very eager to start."

"Thank you, Sir." Kate nodded, skim reading the item.

"He should arrive in a few minutes, I told him he could find you here. His name is-"

"Richard Castle?" Kate exclaimed loudly, glaring at her Professor.

"Whoa. You said my name and I appeared. I must be magic at more things that I thought." A voice gloated from the door. Kate snapped her head around to see her new student, raising an eyebrow at her.

* * *

><p>"Why?" Kate asked simply as she sat down in a chair in the small empty room, slamming the textbooks she had brought down on the desk.<p>

"I wanted some help with my Russian, of course." Rick replied smugly as he sat down next to her, folding his hands in his lap.

"And why do you need to know Russian?" Kate said exasperatedly, crossing her arms.

"I thought it would be helpful for my studies."

"You study _American_ Literature."

He shrugged innocently, "Sometimes it has words in other languages."

"Google Translate too complex for your brain to handle?"

"It doesn't always work completely correctly."

"A dictionary?"

"Wouldn't tell me the proper pronunciation of the words."

"Why do you need the pronunciation if you're _reading_ thewords?"

"Plays, presentations, authenticity-"

"Again, Google Translate could say the words."

"The Google Translate robot lady wouldn't sound hot while doing it." Rick leered, eyes raking down Kate's body.

She huffed loudly, "Fine. You want to learn Russian? Here's your first task, read the first 100 pages of Tolstoy's _War and Peace_ before our next session."

"But that's… not what I had in mind when I paid for this."

"If we did do what you had in mind when you paid for this, I'm pretty sure this would be a completely different and not so school-friendly agreement." Kate said bluntly, causing Rick to smirk.

"Would you do that if I paid extra?"

"I may be a broke college student living on her own for the first time, but I would never be desperate enough to stoop that low."

Rick opened his mouth to retaliate, but was cut short when Kate placed a large book in his lap.

"Like I said, read 100 pages before our next session."

He began to protest before being cut off again, "Unless, you're not really serious about learning Russian and you're doing this for some other reason?" Kate stated, (daring) him.

Rick pursed his lips and nodded, "Same time next Monday?"

* * *

><p>Who's got two thumbs and is actually continuing to write a multi chapter story instead of abandoning it?<p>

This girl! ;D

Thanks for reading, leaving reviews, following, favouriting, just being the best ever in general. 3

Lou xo

* * *

><p>Castle Tumblr; pulling-becketts-pigtails<p>

AO3; pullingbeckettspigtails


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